A Glow From The Future
by NeoNimbus
Summary: Steven and the Crystal Gems have been through many adventures, but a visitor from the future puts them a mission that can decide the fate of the entire world.


**Greetings fellow readers! My name is NeoNimbus and although I have written mostly TAWOG stories, this will be my first time doing a story based on Steven Universe. Before I go any further, I just want to be clear that I do NOT own the show at all. Only the story itself, as well as the OCs.**

**That said, I hope everyone here has a fun time reading and enjoying this story.**

**A Glow From The Future**

_A Steven Universe Story_

By NeoNimbus

Chapter 1-An Unexpected Visitor

It was a beautiful afternoon in Beach City, the hometown of Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems, self-proclaimed Guardians of Humanity, dedicated to protect Earth from all kinds of threats; from the Corrupt Gems that roam the planet to the Homeworld Gems that have dubious intentions of exhausting all of Earth's resources without caring how it will affect the planet's inhabitants to make more Gems. But today, no such threats were present in the quiet seaside town, as Steven used the opportunity to have fun all day long, more so when he has a certain someone he wanted to hang out with.

"Guys!" Steven called out to the Crystal Gems, making his way to the front door. "I'm going to hang out with Connie. Don't worry, I'll be back before sundown."

But before he could head outside, Steven felt a firm grasp on his shoulder, prompting him to turn around and saw Pearl, as well as Garnet and Amethyst, behind him, appearing within seconds upon his announcement.

"Hold it right there, Steven," Pearl ordered him. "If you're going out on your own, you need to at least look more presentable."

"But I like the way I look," Steven insisted, "Why do you think all my shirts are the same?" but his pleas fell on deaf ear, as Pearl pulled him away from the front door and into the bathroom. Garnet and Amethyst could hear what sounded like a scuffle, no doubt that he was resisting Pearl's attempt.

"Oh, this should be a riot," said Amethyst, just as the bathroom door finally opened, with Pearl coming out by herself.

"Steven, don't be shy…" she began. "I think you look wonderful now."

"But I look really ridiculous!" Steven retorted, with a tone of embarrassment from his voice. "I'll be a complete laughing stock!"

"Nonsense, Steven, I doubt anyone will make fun of you," Pearl dismissed his claim. "Now come on out."

Reluctantly, Steven relented and went out, allowing Garnet and Amethyst for them to see his new look; his hair was now comb and slicked, wearing a tie around his new, his shirt tucked in his pants and now had socks and shoes where his signature pink sandals should be. While Pearl was pleased with his look, Steven was far from happy with the way he looked, with Amethyst holding back her laughter and Garnet remained as calm and stoic as usual.

"I look like a total dork," Steven proclaimed.

"Nah Steven, I think you look great," Amethyst lied, giggling in between sentences.

"You look sharp," said Garnet, giving Steven a thumbs up in response.

"Well look at the time, I have to get going now. Bye!" Steven quickly said, before he ran to the front door, opened it and closed it as quickly as he could, getting far away from the beach house as fast as he could, before disappearing out of sight, leaving the Crystal Gems by themselves at the beach house.

"Steven's grown up a lot lately, hasn't he?" Amethyst was the first to spoke up.

"It's only natural for someone like him to seem like that…" Garnet began. "He's been through a lot lately."

"I know what you mean, Garnet," Pearl worriedly said. "We've taken him through many ordeals from the last few months, fighting and containing one Corrupt Gem in each encounter and knowing more of our history. I just wish we knew more about what we're up against so we can help him."

"He'll figure it out himself before we do probably," Amethyst remarked, which soon struck a chord at Pearl's nerves, causing her to look down to the floor, much to Amethyst's suspicion.

"What's wrong, Pearl? Are you afraid he's going to growing up too fast again?" she asked, still recalling the time when Steven nearly aged himself to death.

"It's not that, Amethyst," Pearl responded to her friend's question. "It's just that...I'm still getting use to the fact that in a few years, Steven will be an adult and he won't need any further training from us once he mastered his gemstone."

"Steven will still need us regardless," Amethyst assured her, to which Pearl looked at her friend with a small smile. "He can't win everyone over."

"I know, Amethyst, but even so, Steven will still be the same little boy that Rose Quartz left behind for us to take care of."

"Amethyst! Pearl! Come over here this instant!"

Startled by Garnet's shouting, Amethyst and Pearl rushed by over Garnet's side, both curious of what their friend and leader wanted them here for.

"Garnet, what's going on?" Amethyst asked.

"**THAT!"** Garnet simply replied, before pointing her finger to the warp pad. Once Amethyst and Pearl looked at her direction, they notice that the warp pad was engulfed by a light that glow with great intensity. But how was that possible? There was no way it could have activated on its own.

"Why is the warp pad acting up like that?!" a frantic Pearl asked no one in particular.

"If Peridot or any other Homeworld Gem are coming out from there, they'll be sorry they messed with us!" Amethyst vowed.

"We'll just have find out for ourselves," Pearl simply replied, before she, Garnet and Amethyst armed themselves with their respective weapons, awaiting for the inevitable to happen, before the light that engulfed the warp pad died down, revealing a figure standing in the center...one that they were very familiar with.

In front of them was Steven Universe, or rather an older version of the Steven they knew. He was rather tall and athletic, a far cry from his usual short and chubby self, with a scar on his right cheek and a goatee to boot, wearing an open red shirt, with a bare glimpse of the star symbol on it, revealing his rose quartz gemstone for all to see, as well as wearing a pair of blue pants and brown boots. It also appeared that he was mumbling to himself, having not noticed their presence in an instant.

"...Is that...who I think it is?" Amethyst quietly asked her friends.

"I-I think it is," Pearl quietly replied back in disbelief, with Garnet raising her arm for her friends to be silent, as they listen into the older Steven's speech.

"It work…" he muttered, taking a brief glance of his surroundings, before excitement took a hold on him. "...It really worked! Those Gems pulled it off! I'm back to the past at last! Everything is exactly as I remembered ten years ago! Now all I need to do is finish what I set off to do before I…"

As soon as the older Steven turned around, he finally took notice of Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl staring at him, too late to realize what had just occurred seconds ago.

'_Oh crap.'_

For a moment, they continued to stare at what seemed like an eternity; then, Pearl finally spoke, both confused and speechless by what she is witnessing.

"S-S-Steven, is that really you?"

"Steven, who's Steven?" the older Steven quickly asked, grinning like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, as he backed away from the Crystal Gems like a desperate animal. "I have no idea what you're talking about, strange and mysterious lady I've never met."

His response, however, didn't impressed the Crystal Gems, much less Amethyst, who narrowed her gaze at the older Steven and spoke up.

"That's got to be the worst lie I have ever heard. I should know, I've been there and done that like a bazillion times!"

The older Steven could only sweat profusely by this, unable to respond back, as Garnet started to approach him, no doubt of what her intentions are.

"Explain yourself..." she started. "Why are you here? Where did you come from? More importantly, what is this mission you kept muttering about?"

"Oh...well Garnet, you see, it's a funny story...SMOKE BOMB!"

Without warning, the older Steven pulled out a smoke bomb from his pocket and threw it to the ground, surprising the Crystal Gems, engulfing the entire room in black smoke, allowing him to make a quick escape to the front door, just as the smoke finally dispersed, allowing the trio a clear view to find that he had disappeared out of their sight.

"He got away!" Amethyst shouted in frustration.

"Garnet, please tell me that we didn't just saw what I think we saw," Pearl was still having a hard time fathoming what she and her friends just witnessed.

"We'll find out when we find him," Garnet simply said. "Now let's move!"

With her words spoken, Amethyst and Pearl obliged to Garnet's orders, before the trio head outside, determine to get their answer from their mysterious target.

* * *

After arriving at the boardwalk and making sure that the Crystal Gems were completely out of sight, Steven quickly undo his hair and untucked his shirt as well; the tie and shoes, however, were another story, but then Steven remembered his emergency clothes he had planned out in case such a scenario occurred, heading to the nearby empty trash can and pulling out his signature sandals out of it, before removing and putting both his shoes and ties in the bin and putting his sandals back on, much to his relief.

'_I'm glad Pearl isn't around here. She'll threw a fit if she saw me undo all of her work but she can overdo it sometimes,'_ Steven thought, before he walked to his meeting spot, where he saw Connie waiting for him at a nearby lamppost. _'But I guess that's just her way of being nice."_

"Hey Connie," Steven happily greeted her.

"Hey Steven, how are you," Connie greeted him back. "What took you so long"?

"...Let's just say that I had a wardrobe malfunction," Steven simply said, being careful with his choice of words.

"I'll take your word for it," Connie accepted her friend's answer, not needing to know any more, much to Steven's relief. "So, how are you holding up?"

"I'm still getting use to the idea that there are bad Gems out there and my eye's all healed up. Other than that, I'm doing fine," Steven replied. "By the way, found any new books to check out now that you're done reading the Unfamiliar Familiar series?"

"I'm afraid not, Steven," Connie admitted. "I haven't seen a new title that is just as good as the Unfamiliar Familiar series yet, but who knows; maybe in a few years, there might be something that will interest me, but for now, I just want to take a break."

"A few years? Don't you think that's a bit too long to wait?" Steven said with a smile, "But I'll admit, it really was a fun series to read," Steven agreed.

Just then, though, Steven's stomach growled loudly for him and Connie to hear, before Steven's cheeks blushed and smiled sheepishly. Connie, for her part, couldn't help but giggle.

"It's alright, Steven. There's nothing to be ashamed, " she assured her friend, which relieved Steven of his embarrassment. "Where should we go out and eat?"

"I just know the best place on the boardwalk!" Steven quickly answered. "Follow me!"

Steven then leads Connie to the best place for a quick bite, all the while be much happier about how his day is going.

'_This is going great!'_

* * *

'_This is NOT going great!'_ Future Steven worriedly thought, hiding behind the stand, doing a double, even triple, take on his surroundings, making sure that the Crystal Gems weren't on his tail. So far, the coast looked clear, but anything can change in a beat. After all, he had a mission to fulfill and can't let any distraction get in his way; the faster he gets to it, the better.

"That was a close call. Can't believe I've only been here two minutes and already everything's gone insane," Future Steven muttered under his breath, before shaking his head. "Even so, I can't let that bother me one bit. I need to find my past self; something big is going to happen this month. But where could I find me?"

"Hey Peedee, you know the usual."

Startled to hear his young voice, Future Steven turned around and saw his past self at the Beach Citywalk Fries, along with Connie, the latter that left a deep sadness within his heart. The sight of Connie reminded him of the days when they use to have fun together, when they were just being kids and when they had nothing to worry about. At least, until that event that changed everything forever.

'_Damnit, I'm getting myself distracted again!'_ Future Steven cursed to himself, quickly shaking his head, before making his way to the Beach Citywalk Fries. _'Focus, Steven! Just approach my past self and explain to him everything about the-'_

"Hold it right there!"

Future Steven stopped dead in his tracks and after some hesitation, he turned around to see Mr. Smiley behind him, looking at him rather suspiciously.

"Do I know you?" Mr. Smiley asked, as he started to approach Future Steven.

"Look...sir. I'm kind of busy right now, so could you just-" Future Steven's attempt to reason with Mr. Smiley was cut off when the latter spoke.

"I swear, you seem very familiar."

"I'm sure it's just a case of-"

"No, I'm serious. You definitely reminded me of someone. I just can't put my finger on it," Mr. Smiley then thought as long as he could, much to Steven's exasperation.

'_Just freaking great! This isn't what I was expecting at all,'_ Future Steven thought with annoyance. _'There has got to be a way to get rid of him, but how?'_

Future Steven looked all over the place, hoping to find something to his advantage, but so far, there was none in sight that could be helpful; head to the alleyway? Forget about that. Hide in Fish Stew Pizza? He'll stick out like a sore thumb. Onion stealing tickets from one of the arcade machines...wait a second, of course! There was his solution.

"Hey, look over there!" Steven exclaimed, pointing to the Funland Arcades, prompting Mr. Smiley to look at his direction and saw Onion tampering with one of the arcade machines...again.

"Hey, stop that!" Mr. Smiley demanded, prompting Onion to steal the entire ticket roll before taking off, with an enraged Mr. Smiley chasing right behind him.

"Finally got rid of Mr. Smiley," Future Steven said to himself. "Now I just need to head over the Beach Citywalk Fries and…" he trailed off when he noticed that his past self and Connie we're no longer at the establishment, causing Future Steven to frown and slump in disappointment.

"...he's gone."

* * *

"So…" Connie began, examining the fried bits that Steven is eating, as they continued to walk down the boardwalk. "Are the fried bits the only thing you order?"

"Yep," Steven happily replied, before eaten another fried bit down. "They're the best out there. Fryman and Peedee always know what I want whenever I drop by." Then, an idea came to Steven. "Connie, want to try them?"

"Try them?" asked a surprise Connie, before shaking her head. "Steven, may I remind you that my parents won't allow me to eat those kinds of foods. What if they find out that I tried them? And besides: I honestly don't think those are healthy at all."

"Just take a few bites and who knows, you might like them," Steven persisted, still offering his fried bits to Connie, who continued to stare at the fried bits for what seemed like forever. Finally, Connie gulped and picked up the fried bits up.

"Here goes nothing," she closed her eyes, opened her mouth and put the fried bits in, slowly chewing up the food, before swallowing it. It was then that Connie felt something she never felt before. "Wow, Steven, they're delicious!"

"See? I knew you would like it!" Steven was happy that his friend enjoyed his favorite foods, before Connie cleaned her hands from the napkins that she bought with her.

"So Steven, do you know what you want to be when you grow up?"

"That's obvious, Connie: I'm going to be a Crystal Gem!" Steven proclaimed with a smile.

"...Let me say that again," Connie said, much to Steven's confusion. "What do you want to be other than being a Crystal Gem when you grow up?"

Steven opened his mouth, ready to answer Connie's question, but nothing came out. He opened his mouth once more, but nothing once again. Eventually, Steven sighed in defeat; he just simply doesn't know what else he wanted to be.

"I'll admit, I haven't thought about that."

"It's alright Steven, I don't know what I wanted to be either," Connie cheered Steven up. "Besides, we have enough time to think about our future. But right now, let's have fun at the beach. What do you say?"

"Sure, I'm up for that!" Steven happily answered back, before both kids head towards the beach for some fun in the sun, neither of them realizing a bulge that was starting to rise up.

* * *

Things weren't going well for Future Steven, having barely avoided bumping into the people that he knew when he was a kid, as he made quickly hid himself in the alleyway, before doing a double take as a precaution.

After getting rid of Mr. Smiley, Future Steven tried to locate his past self as quick as possible, but didn't expect bumping into many familiar faces along the way; first, Ronaldo got a good look at his face and tried to take a picture of him on his smartphone, before Future Steven manage to falsely claim he saw a UFO in the sky. Next, he almost bumped into Jenny, Sour Cream and Buck Dewey, forcing Steven to quickly turn his back on them walked sideways, so they wouldn't get a good look of his face. Recently, he bumped right into Lars, who was minding his own business, forcing Steven to retreat to a nearby alleyway, before watching him walked to the opposite direction, much to his relief.

'_That was a close one...'_ Steven thought to himself. _'The last thing I needed is more distractions. I can't let that get in my way on this mission. I need to find my past self and warn him of the event that will change everything forever, but where could he...I be?'_

Future Steven then heard the voice of his younger self, along with Connie, prompting him to turn to the direction and saw that they were on the beach, no doubt that they were having a fun time together. He was just relieved that he found them, he got up and make his way towards the beach.

'_Alright, I just need to get up to my past self and explain everything to him. It'll be such a...'_ Future Steven's thoughts trailed off when he saw three certain Crystal Gems leaping right in front him, all armed with their weapons and none too pleased at the slightest. _'I knew this was too good to be true.'_ He then took a deep breath and opened his mouth. "Listen, let me explained-"

"Cut the chit-chat! Why are you going after our Steven?!" Amethyst demanded an answer.

"Explain yourself!" Garnet added.

Future Steven hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer their back; he could tell them everything, but they'll dismissed it as some sort of life on his part, but if he didn't tell them everything, they'll become even more suspicious of him than ever. Eventually, though, they wanted an answer, so he'll give them the closest to one they'll get.

"...It's better if this Steven hears it from me. It's very important."

The vagueness of answer, however, didn't go well with the Crystal Gems, as Pearl stuck her spear out at him, with Amethyst cracking her whip and Garnet simply cracked her knuckles, causing Steven to sigh in disappointment.

"I thought so," Future Steven simply said, before he summoned his shield and without a second thought, made his first move, heading right towards Garnet.

But Garnet, having anticipated such a move, blocked Future Steven's attack with both of her fists, before grabbing the shield and threw him to a nearby wall. Future Steven, however, quickly recovered, skidding on the planks of the boardwalk, before throwing his shield right at Amethyst; however, Amethyst used her whip and grabbed the shield, before discarding it away like it was nothing. Undaunted, Future Steven re-summoned his shield and went right after Pearl, who proceeded to use her spear to knock Steven's balance; however, he manage to regain his composure and counter by pinning Pearl down.

"This is nothing personal…" Future Steven spoke. "But this hurts me more than it hurts you."

"That goes for two of us," Pearl responded back, before she knocked Future Steven back with her spear, forcing him to evade her attack.

Soon, the four were fighting with one another, neither landing a single blow, much less any injuries to the other party, seemingly matched in a charade that wouldn't end, dodging and countering every single attacks right back at them.

"I've got to admit, this Steven is pretty good with the shield," Amethyst noted, before grabbing and discarding another shield thrown in her path.

"Amethyst, this is no time for praises," Pearl scolded her friend. "We still need to know what this Steven wants with our Steven. For all we know, he could have a-"

Their conversation was cut short when Beach City was shook by a tremor that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing everyone, including Future Steven and the Crystal Gems, to their fighting with one another.

"W-Where did that come from?!" Amethyst asked out loud.

As if to answer her question, the tremor shook Beach City once, much louder than usual, before all four turned around and saw a bulge heading right towards their Steven, as well as Connie, much to their horror.

"STEVEN!"

* * *

Steven and Connie couldn't believe how their day was turning out for them; one minute, they were just splashing water at each other and then the next thing they knew, a tremor appeared out of nowhere, startling them. Worse, there was something moving underneath the sand...and it was getting bigger as it got closer and bursting out of the sand, revealing a giant Gem Gecko with dark yellow scales, bearing several rows of sharp teeth and a light yellow gemstone embedded its tongue at the two frightened kids.

"Another of those Gem monsters, Steven?" asked a panicked Connie.

"I-I'm afraid so," a frightened Steven replied, before the Gem Gecko proceeded to lunge at them, prompting them to run for their dear lives, as the Gem Gecko chased them with shocking speed. But in the midst of their fear, they failed to noticed that they were running into a rocky terrain of the cliff until it was too late, forcing Steven and Connie to stare at their pursuer.

"S-Steven, do something!" Connie pleaded, clinging onto her friend very tightly.

"I can't! I'm too scared!" Steven admitted, also clinging onto Connie very tightly, before they both closed their eye, embracing for the inevitable. What happened next took them both by surprise.

"Hey ugly, pick on someone your own size!" an older, male voice shouted, before Steven and Connie opened their eyes and saw what looked like an older Steven standing alongside the Crystal Gems, before the former threw his shield at the Gem Worm, garnering its attention.

Apparently annoyed by his action, the Gem Gecko roared viciously and proceeded to lunge right at the four; but Future Steven and the Crystal Gems, however, anticipated such a move and they quickly dispersed, with Garnet grabbing ahold of its jaws, before performing an uppercut, forcing the Gem Worm to reel back. Next, Amethyst used her whip on the Gem Gecko's head in attempt to pin it down, but this only caused it to become more angrier and proceeded to move at such lightning speed, with Amethyst still clinging onto her whip.

"Whoa nelly!" she shouted, finding herself as the Gem Worm's unexpected occupant, swinging her side by side until throwing her to the nearest rock, fed up with her presence. "I'm alright!"

After ridding itself of Amethyst, the Gem Gecko burst out of the sands once more and focused its next attack on Pearl, lunging right at her within a few seconds, just as Pearl managed to put her spear in its jaws, preventing it from clamping down at its intended meal; as it struggled to free it's trapped jaws, Future Steven summoned his shield, aiming it carefully at the Gem Gecko, with his weapon becoming increasingly large, as sharp blades protrude from the side, before throwing his now large shield at the monster, slicing its head clean off of its body, but not before letting one last roar and disintegrating into dust, leaving its gemstone behind, with Future Steven and the Crystal Gems approaching it, as Garnet bubbled it and send it back into the Crystal Temple.

"That was amazing back there!" Amethyst praised Future Steven. "Who would have thought that you can pull off something like that?"

"Well...when you have to survive for as long as I did, you can learn and pick up a few things along the way," Steven simply said rather sheepishly.

While Future Steven was conversing with Amethyst, Steven and Connie, after watching the fight from the sideline, couldn't believed who they were staring at: in front of them was a person who liked Steven, but older and not only that, he was able to summon his shield and wielding it with ease. This raises a lot of questions in their minds, as they approached Future Steven, before Steven himself spoke up.

"Um...excuse me…" Steven began, garnering the attention of Future Steven, much to his surprise. "Are you...me from the future?"

"...Yes, yes I am," Future Steven replied and for a moment, there was a long silence in the atmosphere, with neither Stevens saying a single word to the other.

"That...is...so...COOL!" Steven couldn't believed what he was hearing and before long, more questions came to mind. "What's the future like?! Do we fly around in jetpacks and have robot servants?! Can we travel through space?! Do we-"

"Um, Steven, maybe you should give him some space," Connie attempted to calm Steven down, but her friend was too caught up in his excitement.

While Steven continued to ask his future self one too many questions, Pearl pondered on her and her friends' earlier conversation with him; something about his last statement bothered her very much, as well as the seriousness from his tone.

'_What did he mean by "it's better for our Steven to hear it from him"?'_ Pearl continued to wonder about this statement, before she turned her attention to him. "Steven…"

"Yes?" the Stevens simultaneously asked, prompting Pearl to rub her head in annoyance.

"That's going to get really old."

"Oh! Oh! I know! How about if we call our Steven 'Little Steven' and call this Steven 'Big Steven'?" Amethyst enthusiastically suggested. "That way, we can tell who's who!"

"That can work," Garnet agreed.

"I don't want to be called 'Little Steven'! That's the dumbest name ever!" Steven protested. "Why can't I be 'Steven 1' and he be called 'Steven 2'?" he then pointed his finger to his future self.

"I don't know, I think it's rather appropriate," Future Steven spoke with amusement.

"You can't say that to me! I'm you as an adult!" Steven disagreed with his future self. "In fact, how about I be Young Steven' and you be 'Old Steven'? Or how about-"

"BOTH OF YOU GET INTO THE BEACH HOUSE THIS INSTANT!" a fed up Pearl demanded.

"Yes ma'am," both Stevens sheepishly agreed, before they, as well as Connie and the Crystal Gems, headed back into the beach house.

* * *

The Galaxy Warp Pad, once a the prime hub for traveling Gems across the galaxy, is nothing more than a shadow of its former self; a relic of a six thousand year war that has faded into with nothing but dust and cracked warp pads.

At least it was, until this one moment, when one lone warp pad activated on its own, engulfed by a light that intensified for what seemed like an eternity, until it dyed down, revealing a towering figure, the appearance obscured by the shadows, with only its frightenly glowing red eyes on its face, as it surveyed its new surroundings for a moment, before uttering one single sentence.

[ELIMINATE ALL GEMS ON SIGHT.]

_Next time on A Glow From The Future…_

_Chapter 2-The Whole Truth_

_Future Steven tells his past self, Connie and the Crystal Gems of his mission, but there's more to the truth than it appears._

**Tidbits**

**-Been a long time since I've written a long chapter for any of my stories and just to be clear, I tend to make long chapters, so it might take a while to get use to the amount of details I put in. Also, I'll be putting this section up near the end of every chapter.**

**-I've been dying to do this story for a long time since the show's debut; the reason I'm only doing it now is because I didn't have enough information from the show to get an idea, though with the first season finish, that won't be the case.**

**-Finally, I want to thank Sal for his help with the story. I really appreciate it very much.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter of what I hope will be an exciting new story in the Steven Universe and I'll see ya next chapter. ;)**


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